Kathy and Bob Ludwig<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe Institute of Pastoral\nStudies, Loyola University Chicago, would like to honor Bob Ludwig, IPS Director\n(2004-2012), and thank him for all he has done for our institute. We thought\nthe best way to do this was to hear from those who know him and his work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peter Gilmour, IPS Professor Emeritus, reminded us \u201cthat when Bob Ludwig came as Director of the Institute of Pastoral Studies, it was his second incarnation at IPS. In the \u201870s and \u201880s when IPS had a large summer program, Bob taught courses for many summers and, for a few years, during the academic year as well. Even then he was instrumental in shaping the curriculum and fostering a deep and abiding sense of community among all IPS participants, faculty, staff, and students. \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peter and Bill Schmidt, IPS Professor,\npointed out Bob\u2019s help in the development of \u201ctwo strong and vital new degrees,\nthe M.A. in Social Justice<\/strong>,\nand the M.A. in Christian\nSpirituality<\/strong>.\u201d As well as the fact that Bob \u201cwas a pioneer in\ndeveloping online education at IPS. At a time when many administrators\nand faculty looked askance at online courses and degrees, Bob read the future\naccurately and moved ahead bringing the IPS charism for pastoral education to\nmany students who otherwise would not have had the opportunity to be students\nat IPS.\u201d Both agree Bob and IPS were ahead of the curve.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThere is a lot to be said about Bob Ludwig\non a personal level. Robert O`Gorman, IPS Professor\nEmeritus, shared a few images he has of Bob:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Energizer Bunny<\/em><\/strong>: Bob and I are close in age. When the IPS director position opened up and Bob applied I was reluctant because I felt we needed new young leadership \u2013 \u2013 I know I felt tired. Immediately he brought energy to the position with a whole new look at what this 50-year-old Institute could do. The new programs and initiatives that took my breath away.<\/li>
- Prophet<\/em><\/strong>: justice became the purpose of ministry under Bob at IPS. If a program did not engage Scripture and theology to establish a kingdom of justice and loving right relationship it needed correction to be part of Loyola\u2019s IPS.<\/li>
- Late-night<\/em><\/strong> talk show host: at times when I was in the office before Bob in a morning \u2013 usually to meet some deadline that was looming \u2013 Bob would burst in and say \u201cHow about dem Bears last night!\u201d and then whatever I was doing to meet the deadline would simply be laid aside and a running commentary would begin that would attract everybody to hilarious laughter. But it oriented the day for us \u2013 IPS was a friendly happy place to be. In addition to a kingdom of justice, Bob brought a vision of a kingdom of laughter. <\/li>
- A teaching addict<\/em><\/strong>: \u201cHello, my name\u2019s Bob Ludwig and I\u2019m addicted to teaching.\u201d Most of us, especially myself, would guard time for work by fending off any request beyond contract limits for extra teaching. Not Bob! As Director his teaching load technically was less than the ordinary professor \u2013 but Bob always taught more than most of us. If one of us would be out for some kind of an emergency Bob would take the class. Students were satiated by this teaching. Often times philosophers of education divide teaching into an emphasis in one of 3 realms \u2013 the content, the context (concern for society) or the development of the person. Bob had one focus for teaching \u2013 all 3 of these divisions!<\/li>
- Cigar chomping director:<\/em><\/strong> From its beginning in 1964 IPS had an on\u2013the\u2013fringe position in the constellation of Loyola University\u2019s departments. It was named an Institute<\/em>, not a department. In the years before Bob, directors generally spoke softly and didn\u2019t carry a big stick in University meetings. Not so when Bob came on the scene. So totally committed to and confident in the mission of IPS and so personally competent as an educational leader, Bob (and IPS) assumed and was afforded a major leadership role in the University. Under Bob IPS and its faculty began to have a hand in shaping and developing the mission of the University.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBob brought a relational style to IPS. Bob\u2019s natural friendliness, warmth, and humanity, made him a beloved teacher and colleague. Between his ready-at-hand unlit cigar, and his ready humor, working with Bob was never tedious. \u2018Never take yourself too seriously\u2019 is a life stance I observed in Bob. Yet in his own relaxed way, he got important things done. It was a privilege to work with Bob in his abiding commitment to embrace the breadth of the IPS vision.\u201d \u2013 Schmidt<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLooking back at Bob\u2019s leadership some years later now, we see a person of faith who was ahead of the curve in so many ways! He anticipated the future. He moved IPS ahead through a grand vision of education and consensus-building among the faculty that continued what has come to be known as \u2018the IPS tradition\u2019.\u201d \u2013 Gilmour<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian\nSchmisek, IPS Dean and Professor (2012-2019), noted that \u201cBob Ludwig led IPS with\ntremendous creativity, starting new programs and implementing new ideas. As he\nretired he was honored with the \u2018Called and Gifted\u2019 award from AGPIM\n(Association of Graduate Programs in Ministry) in recognition of his\ncontributions to ministry education over the years.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peter Jones, IPS Acting Dean, expressed: \u201cDr. Ludwig has been instrumental in advancing the fields of theology and pastoral studies and served as a beloved educator for more than 40 years. (\u2026) In 1982 he took a position in the Institute for Ministry at Loyola University New Orleans and created there, well ahead of its time, a distance education program in ministry formation. The growth and importance of online education today, a distant and unforeseen possibility in 1982, reveals the prophetic nature of his vocation and commitment to serving students. (\u2026) Dr. Ludwig joined the IPS in 2004 as a full-time faculty member and served as its director through 2012 and as faculty through 2014. In all these ways and more, Dr. Ludwig\u2019s work and reputation as a scholar, teacher, and leader demonstrate his reputation in the field.\u201d In recognition of all Bob Ludwig\u2019s contributions, Loyola University Chicago granted him the status of Professor Emeritus!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Congratulations Bob!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Institute of Pastoral Studies, Loyola University Chicago, would like to honor Bob Ludwig, IPS Director (2004-2012), and thank him for all he has done for our institute. We thought the best way to do this was to hear from those who know him and his work. Peter Gilmour, IPS Professor Emeritus, reminded us \u201cthat read more <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ips","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4159"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4856,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4159\/revisions\/4856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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